Dear Student,

This website is an experiment developed by Kim Clark and Peter Jaegersen under the auspices of Ohio State University's Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs. It is solely designed for informational purposes. Students and parents should consult with their own financial advisers before making any important decisions.

Kim Clark is a senior writer for US News & World Report, and a Kiplinger Fellow at Ohio State University. She's also an occasional contributor to Marketplace, the public radio business show. She's spent the last 20 years researching and writing about finance and economics. For the last several years, she's focused on college financial aid. She's also had plenty of personal experience with financial aid. Brown University was kind enough to give her enough scholarships, loans and jobs so she could earn a B.A. with honors. And Harvard was kind enough to loan her lots of money so she could earn a Master's in Public Administration from its John F. Kennedy School of Government.

You can contact us by emailing: help@financialaidletter.com.